Report on the Analysis of Plutonium-238 Oxide, Campaign #P5PO

Chris Wightman, Doug Canaan, Jordan Couch, Jeffrey {Jeff} S. Delashmitt, Howard Meadows, John Partridge, Matt Warne

Research output: Book/ReportCommissioned report

Abstract

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is currently producing Plutonium-238 oxide for NASA space programs. Through the irradiation of NpO2 pellets in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), the production of Pu-238 oxide will be used for electrical power and heat on NASA spacecraft such as the Curiosity Mars Rover and the Voyager 1 and 2. The Transuranium Analytical Laboratory (TAL) leads the analytical effort for this project, which includes the dissolution of plutonium product oxide (PUP) and the analysis of the dissolved product solution using both radiological and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques that are required to meet product specifications. The Transuranic Analytical Laboratory received three samples of Pu-238 oxide for analysis in January of 2022. This report documents the analytical protocols performed by the TAL along with the results produced from said analytical protocols. This report also includes a comparison with the general-purpose heat source (GPHS) specifications.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationUnited States
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Keywords

  • 07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES

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